"Your son, Spencer? It says here that you were notified of his birth, and you've had visitation rights every weekend since he was six weeks old. Although you have never come to see him" the man seemed to be accusing the numb House, but he didn't notice. He had slumped down onto his couch. A son?
"I never knew..."
"But it says-"
"Then someone filled in the form wrong. I've never been told"
"We're having some trouble with Spencer"
"What kind of trouble?"
"Due to his complex special needs-" at that, House reached for the scotch on his coffee table. "We've been unable to find him a foster career. Would you be willing to take him, for a week or so? Then we can review, and if it's best, get him into a more permanent home"
"This is... a lot to take in. Did Stacy" House paused "Was it painful?"
"It was very quick. Their car collided with a truck, and that sent it rolling off a cliff off the interstate. Spencer was with his SEN worker"
"Oh God... Yeah, yeah, I'll take him. Of course I will"
"Thank you so much, Dr House. I'm sure that you'll be fine. Let me tell you a bit about Spencer"
"Go for it. I have all night" House said, masking his horror and curiosity with snark.
"Firstly, he has autism, which makes him almost non verbal, he doesn't really make eye contact, although he'll want a lot of physical contact. He hates change. He can't cope with loud noises. But he adores music, especially the piano"
"I play piano" he said quietly
"That's good. Also, Spencer has pica. That means he has a compulsion to eat everything, even if it's not good for him"
"I'd better clean out my apartment of small objects then, huh" House mused, shocked by how bad it was. He'd been expecting nothing worse than dyslexia or ADHD.
"He also has a wheelchair, although he doesn't use it very often, only when he's very tired"
"I can't push a chair"
"I know, your leg will be a hindrance in your son's care. Is there anyone who would come to live with you for a month at the maximum while you look after Spencer?" Names ran though House's head. His first thought, as it always was, was Wilson. But he wouldn't trust House enough to let him be with the kid. Then there was Cuddy. But she wouldn't move in with him, and she had Rachel. Stacy was dead. There was no way he would ask Foreman, or Chase. The only candidate, then, was Cameron. She would be caring. She would take care of both Spencer and House himself. She wouldn't mind sharing a place with him.
"Yeah. I'll come up to New York first thing in the morning"
"Goodbye Dr Hou-" House cut him off and dropped his phone, taking a large gulp of scotch. He had a son. A real son. And he had special needs. What the hell was he supposed to do now?